Thousands
of Chinese Christians have united in the city of Wenzhou to form a
24-hour human shield around the Sanjiang Christian Church, amidst
threats from the Communist authorities to demolish the building. The
three-story Church is one of ten places of worship to have been
listed for demolition in the Zhejiang province, considered China's
most Christian region. This is the second time in two weeks the
Christians of Zhejiang have flocked to protect their Church from the
machinations of the local Communist party.

Though
attempts to close down Christian Churches are nothing new in China,
the Sanjiang Church stands as an officially-sanctioned place of
worship by the Communist government, and is, in theory, entitled to
the legal protection of Article 36 of the Chinese constitution:

"Citizens
of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief.
No state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens
to believe in, or not to believe in, any religion; nor may they
discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in,
any religion. The state protects normal religious activities."

In
spite of a mounting campaign of intimidation and suppression, China's
thriving Christian community is growing at an exuberant rate, with
research from the University of Purdue foreseeing an estimated 247
million Christians living in China by 2030. Under the rule of Mao
Zedong, China was declared an atheist state, and a campaign of
violence was waged against the mere one million Christians that then
lived in China. When the Cultural Revolution was brought to an end
in 1976, a degree of tolerance began to take form. Nevertheless,
heavy restrictions remain on Christian worship. Only the
state-approved, state-monitored, state-restricted 'Three Self
Patriotic Movement' is considered a legal form of Christianity, with
non-conformist congregations and underground 'house Churches'
subjected to brutal recriminations.

Speaking
in support of the Christians defending Sanjiang Church, Luca Volontè,
Chairman of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute said:

"All
the lessons of history demonstrate to China the futility of forcing
Christians to choose between faith and country. The Christian
awakening of millions of Chinese citizens is not a form of political
process but rather the peaceful desire to learn and to worship Our
Lord. After bold statements from Western leaders - including David
Cameron and Angela Merkel - on the duty to defend Christians from
persecution, the international community cannot abandon the
Christians of Whenzou to this very public campaign of coercion and
suppression."

The
Dignitatis
Humanae Instituteaims
to uphold human dignity based on the anthropological truth that man
is born in the image and likeness of God and therefore has an innate
human dignity of infinite worth to be upheld. The Institute promotes
this understanding by supporting Christians in public life, assisting
them to present effective and coherent responses to increasing
efforts to silence the Christian voice in the public square.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

The following excerpts are from ACLJ (American Center for Law and Justice):

Late yesterday afternoon, ACLJ filed a lawsuit on behalf of Brandon Jenkins against officials of The Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) in Maryland for denying Brandon admission to its Radiation Therapy Program in part due to his expression of religious beliefs. As one faculty member explained to Brandon, on behalf of CCBC, the “field [of radiation therapy] is not the place for religion."

Brandon first applied for admission to the Radiation Therapy Program in April 2013. He met the standards of a competitive candidate and scored the maximum points allowed during his observation. During the interview process, college officials asked Brandon, “What is the most important thing to you.” Brandon answered simply, “My God.”

Brandon was denied entry into the program. After Brandon inquired why he was denied, the Program Director, Adrienne Dougherty, told him:

I understand that religion is a major part of your life and that was evident in your recommendation letters, however, this field is not the place for religion. We have many patients who come to us for treatment from many different religions and some who believe in nothing at all. If you interview in the future, you may want to leave your thoughts and beliefs out of the interview process.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association is sending a delegation to participate in the WorldPride 2014 Parade in Toronto—prompting criticism from Cardinal Thomas Collins.

“I am always inspired by the thousands of Catholic teachers in classrooms throughout Ontario who know their Catholic faith, and whose faith shapes the loving way in which they care for their students, especially any who are facing personal struggles,” said the Toronto cardinal, as quoted by the Catholic Register.

“OECTA, however, is not the Catholic teachers; it is a union,” he added. “Its competence is limited to collective bargaining, and the services any union provides to its members. When it goes beyond those areas, it can easily go wrong, as it has in the decision of the OECTA delegates to participate in this event.....

Thursday, April 10, 2014

I
am in the process of changing the layout of the blogs. Instead of 2
sidebars, there will be just one.

I
have made the page wider, and the posts will be more-so on the left
side of the blog.

The
blog lists, or links to all Faith of the Fathers blogs and my
favorite Catholic blogs can be found on the right hand sidebar by
scrolling down the page.

Also,
new is an Amazon store called "Faith
of the Fathers Catholic Books and More", which can be
accessed by clicking the name that is just below the header
(description box) near the top of the page. There will be books,
Bibles, DVD’s and more for sale, that re;ate to the different areas
of the blogs. They include Catholic Mass, Catholic Saints, Fathers of
the Church, and more.

I
have also added a home
page for the blogs, and in it's main (and only) post is a
list of all the most recent blog posts. Each has a small
"snippet" from the blog post. You can click the title of
the snippet, and it will take you to the full post.

I
hope this gives the blogs a cleaner look, and is better for all the
readers and followers of Faith of the Fathers.